One of my very favorite roll recipes of all time, these cornmeal crescent rolls are light, buttery and delicious. This time-honored, tried and true recipe is a huge family favorite for any meal. From holidays to basic weeknight dinners and everything in between. The cornmeal adds a delicious flavor you will love.
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Hello Friends!
Today marks 50 recipes posted on my blog. Can you believe it?
And to celebrate I am sharing with you one of the recipes that I have become famous for among my family, neighbors and friends.
Cornmeal Crescent Rolls.
With their light, airy texture, buttery flavor and beautiful looks these rolls have stolen dozens of hearts.
Including mine.
We love these cornmeal crescent rolls
I once made these rolls for some sweaty teenage boys after they got back from a 25-mile bike ride. I’m pretty sure if there was a world record for shortest consumption time of a pan of crescent rolls, they would have won it. It was like a locust plague descended upon them. They were there one minute and gone the next.
And believe me those boys have been talking about them ever since.
I think that experience sealed my fate as the crescent-roll-maker of the neighborhood.
Next week I’ll be making 6 batches of these rolls to serve for a banquet at the special request from a couple of those boys.
They are pretty much unforgettable.
I’ve made them for holidays, special occasions, and just to spice up a plain, old boring dinner.
So I hope by now there is no doubt in your mind how amazing these cornmeal crescent rolls are. And I hope that I have you thoroughly convinced that you cannot go even another day without them. They are so so good.
How to make these cornmeal crescent rolls
I have adapted and simplified the method so that the prep and rise time is shortened significantly. I’ve found that only one rise is necessary as long as you follow a few basic steps that I’ll explain.
The first step in making these rolls is to gather all the ingredients together and have them all ready to go. This is important because the steps go quickly and you want to make sure the dough stays nice and warm so it will rise well.
You start by heating the milk until it forms bubbles around the outside of the pan. Then add the cornmeal and whisk it until it gets thick like porridge.
Add the butter, sugar, and salt to the mixer. Then once it’s thick, pour in the cornmeal/milk porridge. No need to let it cool first as long as you carefully add the ingredients in order. Keeping it nice and hot actually helps activate the yeast better.
Add the eggs to the other side of the mixer (not directly touching the hot porridge). Then add three cups of flour and put the yeast on the very top. Turn on the mixer and mix until the flour incorporates. Add additional flour as needed until the dough starts to pull away from the sides and center of the bowl, but it is still sticky.
Here’s a little visual of the process to give you the idea. The last picture shows the dough at the appropriate stickiness for these rolls. You can see it’s still sticking here and there to the dough hook, but it’s pulled away from the sides and center of the mixer.
You want the rolls nice and fluffy so be sure not to over flour the dough.
Let the stand mixer knead the dough for 6 minutes to develop the gluten. The developed gluten helps the dough rise well and quickly.
Divide the dough into thirds and roll out each in a circle on an oiled counter. Cut the circle into 8 pie-shaped wedges. Roll up each wedge starting with the wide end and bend into a crescent shape. Place on a greased cookie sheet in three rows wide with eight rolls in each row.
Let the rolls rise in a warm kitchen for 30 to 45 minutes until doubled. Then bake for 12-15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.
How to serve + freezing instructions
My favorite way to eat these rolls is hot out of the oven smothered with homemade pear jam. Oh my it is heaven. That’s what I served to those boys after their bike ride. So so good.
Another great thing about these rolls is that they freeze well. Just bake as recipe directs, then cool them completely before transferring to gallon freezer bags. Freeze for up to 1 month in advance. They are best frozen immediately after baking and cooling, rather than waiting a day or two before freezing.
Okay my friends. I think that’s finally all I have to say about this recipe. Hopefully those extra instructions will help you be successful at making these. As always let me know if you have questions. Enjoy!
Update: I just remembered I forgot to tell you that just like this cornbread, I always make these rolls with cornmeal ground fresh from popcorn! It’s the best. 🙂
Update (5/21/2020): If you are new to breadmaking (or just looking to up your breadmaking game), I wrote up a super detailed guide to baking with yeast. It will walk you through a lot of common breadmaking pitfalls and help you become a breadmaking expert.
Cornmeal Crescent Rolls
One of my very favorite roll recipes of all time, these cornmeal crescent rolls are light, buttery and delicious. This time-honored, tried and true recipe is a huge family favorite for any meal. From holidays to basic weeknight dinners and everything in between. The cornmeal adds a delicious flavor you will love.
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk
- ⅔ cup (4 ounces) yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- ⅓ cup (2.5 ounces) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 5 – 6 cups all-purpose flour divided, see note
- 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
- ¼ cup (½ stick) butter for brushing on top, optional
Instructions
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In a medium saucepan heat milk on medium high until bubbles form on the sides of the pan (this is called scalding the milk). Add cornmeal and continue to heat, whisking mixture continuously until it thickens into a porridge-like consistency.
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Add to the bowl of a stand mixer the butter (cut into ½-inch pieces), sugar, and salt. Then carefully pour in the hot thickened milk/cornmeal to one side of the bowl and crack the eggs on the other side (see note). Add 3 cups of flour on top of the cornmeal mixture and pour the yeast on the very top.
-
Turn on the mixer, mixing slowly at first until the flour is incorporated. Then slowly add additional flour ½ cup at a time, letting it incorporate into the dough until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is still sticking to the center of the bowl continue to add a little bit more flour and let it mix until it just barely starts to pull away from the center of the bowl (see note). Then let mixer mix dough for 6 additional minutes to develop the gluten.
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Grease a half-size baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled counter and divide into three pieces. Make each piece into a ball and roll into a 8 to 10-inch circle. Brush the top lightly with butter (if desired) and cut circle into 8 pie-shaped wedges.
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Starting from the wide end, roll each wedge up starting from the wide end and gently bend so it forms a crescent shape. Place each roll on prepared baking pan evenly spaced in 3 rows across with 8 rolls in each row. Cover with a thin, lightweight dish towel and let rise until doubled (about 30 to 45 minutes).
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 12-17 minutes or until rolls are cooked through and lightly browned.
Recipe Notes
1. One of the great things about this roll recipe is that it only has to rise once. The reason that works is because the liquid is hot when it is added to the stand mixer, which will activate the yeast and make it rise well. Be sure to be careful in following this method that you don’t allow the yeast to touch the hot milk/cornmeal mixture directly (which will kill the yeast). You also want to make sure you act quickly so the eggs aren’t sitting there cooking once the hot milk/cornmeal touches them. I like to have everything ready to go so I can just quickly place it in order in the stand mixer when the time is right and turn it on to mix.
2. Stop adding flour when the dough starts to pull away from the center of the bowl even if you haven’t used all the flour called for in the recipe. The dough should still be quite sticky at this point (you should still be able to work with it easily but it will stick to your fingers). A sticky dough will make for a light, airy roll. Over-flouring the dough will cause the dough to not rise as well and make the rolls tough.
3. These rolls freeze well. Bake as recipe directs, then cool completely before transferring to gallon freezer bags. Freeze for up to 1 month in advance. They are best frozen immediately after baking and cooling, rather than waiting a day or two before freezing.
Recipe Source: Adapted from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, simplified method, cut prep & rise time significantly.
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
